Master Thadus
When Nithriel planned to invade Valc, she set a number of objectives for her Cultists to achieve. The Grove presented an important point for her, because it was a strong vessel of magic energy upon which the Orcs thrived. This meant a potential threat to her plans, thus causing her to wish for the destruction of the Grove, for which she employed Lith's corruption. Since Nithriel needed to focus her presence on the Crystal Heart, she appointed few of her strongest followers in charge of leading the occupation of the remote areas of Valc. Master Thadus was a high rank Initiate tasked with taking over the Grove as well as overseeing the expansion of the corruption around the Portal Cave. Taking over the Reaver Headquarters, he proceeded to the Archive, and after a brief research, he found out more about the Cyan Crystals used by the Iron Division to sustain growth of nature in the underground. He also realized that the spread of the corruption was hindered by the crystals and the strong vegetation, then ordered his followers to break down every Cyan Crystal they could find and throw it into the nearby river. He later on also ordered for the freshly arrived Bear Warriors to be hunted down, and organized a pack of Crawlers to reach into the Reaver HQ wing that the Cultists had mistakenly sealed off and kill the survivors beneath. Most of this information is documented in his personal notes: "Now that these hanging cyan crystals have been destroyed, the nature's power will begin to dwindle... At least if my conclusions based on what I've researched here are correct. If so, expect the portal's power source to help expand the corruption with one less obstacle in its wake. However, we'll have to deal with the halfblood first... I understand that the cultists are in position right before the massive Orc tree... as for the Goblins, I will send a handful of Crawlers after them, right after I feed them the fools that failed to slay these pesky green runts. Blowing the way to the northern wing did nothing but delay us. They SHOULD have imagined you can't trap them in a place sprawling with ventilation shafts." The text also suggests that he was made aware of Zan's return to Valc, as well as the casualties she had caused inside the Plaza, Barracks and Forge. Because of this, he ordered his men to take position by the clearing in front of the Great Stump and ambush her when she comes by. In order to help him with his task, Nithriel gave Thadus a few lieutenants in charge of Cultist squads, ready to assist at any time. The first lieutenant was an Iron Maiden which he tasked with preparing the defense of the Grove for when Zan would return. "The Demonblood lives! And she is here. She's slaughtered our entire force in the Plaza, and knowing how competent our worshipers have proven themselves to be so far, I am certain that she is making her way towards our... goal. Do NOT let her touch the portal here. Reinforce the main gates, have a barricade built, send the strongest of your Iron Maidens to hold that line... should they fall, the halfblood will meet her end before she reaches the portal. I've prepared an ambush. -Master Thadus" The second lieutenant was an Initiate in charge of helping Thadus with research of the Crystals, as well as the Crystal Heart itself (and provide Nithriel with additional information). When he arrived in Valc, he found himself surrounded by Zan's rampage, which he mentions in a text: "When I was told I would be expected by a welcoming party here, I assumed they would be ALIVE. How hard can it be to overcome a few measly Orcs? Gah, at least the fumes from those incompetents' bodies should help silence these maddening crickets outside... I must get to work, cremating the dead was not my duty. I have already discovered a message left behind by an I.D. survivor. '' ''I do believe she is still alive and bent on slowing down our advance at any cost. I must inform mistress Nithriel as soon as I am recalled. This Reaver also mentions crystals in her note, so the I.D. must be somewhat aware of our purpose here. I will commence my research on the Crystal Heart right now, but it will be harder without assistance. '' ''The plaza seems devoid of any life, yet I feel unsafe - rumor has it the Halfblood has vanished from the battlefield. Nobody could find her corpse...But I worry too much, it's not like she would just barge in h-" Amusingly enough, he mentioned Zan in his text right as she opened the Library door, interrupting him. When Thadus discovered that Yellow Crystals are beneficial in the growth of the corruption, he concluded that activating the Grove Portal would overcharge the power sources connected to it and boost the expansion of the dark slime. However, the controls of the Portal were locked shut. This led to him recalling his third lieutenant, who was standing by for being teleported in Valc when needed. He was sent, along with his troop, inside the Great Stump, the last place where the key could be found. Once there, he encountered the Great Stump Librarian who took out a few of his followers before being overwhelmed. Before her death, however, the Librarian had hidden away the tablet opening the nearby root gates, thus trapping Thadus' lieutenant and his followers and forcing them to commence a thorough search. He writes about this in a note, asking his superior for additional bodies to help him out. "We've dealt with the last intruder - she's managed to get all the way up to the second floor, but she couldn't get past the root gate. Still, neither can we... we've tried everything, but the roots simply regenerate faster than we can damage them! We know they're using the tablets to recite a spell that grants them passage, but that bitch guarding the library must have hidden the tablet before we got here. Whatever lies on the floor above, it must be valuable to them! Perhaps it's the very key to the Portal controls! Nobody else has found it, right? We NEED to find that darned tablet. And I need aid. The greenskin couldn't have had much time to hide the tablet after hearing us warp and commence the attack, so I assume it must be right here somewhere. I've had the cultists search the place, but to no avail. I need you to send more thralls here so we can cover more ground. Imagine how pleased will mistress Nithriel be to hear we have gotten that portal running! Trust me, that tablet MUST be here..." Eventually, Thadus and all his lieutenants get face to face with Zan, who stops their plans and butchers them.